this morning on "early today" mercury rising. the deadly heat wave that's been gripping the nation's midsection heads east. lockout unlocked? the nfl owners agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. now it's up to the players. and order in the court. a judge dealing with an unruly defendant takes matters into his own hands. hello, and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry, and today we begin with boiling over. from the midwest to the east

coast folks have fans and air conditioners cranked on high amid triple digit temperatures. for the immediate future the sweltering so-called heat dome isn't going anywhere. nbc's chris clacum reports. >> reporter: excessive heat warnings now extend east to new york where there's concern the heat wave could become more dangerous. >> my aunt is 92 years old, and she had a little bit of a heart problem, and her air conditioner broke yesterday, so she needs one no matter what the cost, no matter what. >> reporter: air conditioners and cooling centers are at a premium everywhere with temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees and higher. in ohio, triple digit heat is suspected in the death of a man in a house near columbus where the air conditioning wasn't working. that was one of some two dozen deaths blamed on a heat mass that creeped slowly across the country and at last count set 221 new record high temperatures.

in washington, the vacation crowd is getting a lesson in why it's not just the heat, but the humidity. >> humid, hot, muggy, nasty. >> just like soup. yeah. >> reporter: in nearby virginia, civil war buffs reenacting a battle of 150 years ago insist on boiling in authentic uniforms. >> the first men as battle was 100 something, and 50 years it was 100 something, and now it's 100 again, so we're going to make our way through it. >> reporter: the heat continued to take a toll too on livestock. at least 1,200 cows have died in minnesota. 1,600 in south dakota. zoo animals, on the other hand, have places to escape the hottest heat wave some states have seen in two decades. chris clacum, nbc news. with less than two weeks before the treasury department's debt ceiling deadline, there is

still no deal, but word out of washington points to some headway being made on what's been so-called a grand bargain. nbc's brian mooar has the details for us in washington. brian, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. in a short time they will vote on cut, cap and balance. a balanced budget amendment that's not expected to pass but what it will do is clear the way for house republicans, especially tea party members, to go ahead and vote on another compromise plan. there are several in the works right now. president obama and house speaker john boehner are working behind the scenes on one that would bring the outer edges of their part closer to together. there's also the gang of six trying to hammer out a deal that could bring both parties together. time is running out. some sort of plan has to be agreed on today in order to meet that august 2nd deadline to raise the nation's debt ceiling. >> the clock is ticking. thank you.

now here's a look at other stories making news early today in america. a judge in georgia had enough of one defendant's disruption. the man yelled and shouted in the court repeatedly until the judge had him bound and gagged. he continued his muffled rant, but the jury convicted the man of aggravated assault on a police officer. his sentencing is scheduled for today. a life-saving surgery in washington has given one tortuous a new way to get around. so sweet. the animal's leg was removed after it was severely burned on a heating lamp. to give it the best chance of survival, doctors attached a wheel implant to help with mobility. the tortuous will be monitored over the next two years. finally in illinois, a local television station employed an old trick to show just how hot it was in one area.

an intense heat wave turned one sidewalk into a grill. the eggs didn't quite cook all the way, but they did get a sizzling example of just how dangerous the sun can be. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. you remember we had cookies yesterday. we had eggs today. >> what's next? >> that's local news move. how about the whole breakfast. pancakes and everything. >> waffles too. >> good morning. the well advertised heat wave has gripped much of the country. this map shows everywhere yesterday in red where it was at least 90 degrees. you notice the exception is the northern plains, much of the northern rockies and central rockies and also right along the west coast where temperatures continue to be cool. only 70 yesterday in seattle. we warmed up in nevada and also southern areas of utah got hot along with much of arizona. heat warnings today are in the

mid-atlantic. hottest weather around the nation's capital. a heat index feeling like 120 late this afternoon. we still have some ocean layer clouds right near the coast there. we have upper level low that's kicking up into canada and as all of this exists, finally high pressure and calm conditions are arriving for what should be a very enjoyable weekend. today's forecast is going to feel warm dare i say. 78 in seattle will feel warm. warmer days of the summer. 84 in portland. medford at 94. we actually have some nice weather conditions even salt lake city and boise will enjoy >> looks like the weekend forecast will be improving.

warm and dry. >> let's hop plane to the west coast. all right, bill, thank you so much. well, a big euro debt deal, a new owner for chrysler, and a royal dash through duty-free. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. plus, captain america's mission was to fight the nazis, but he has an even tougher mission this weekend at the box office beating "harry potter." coming up, one save and a beauty. the nfl owners are ready for football, but are the players? you're watching "early today."

good morning, and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry. here's some of your top headlines this morning. senior defense officials tell nbc news today the pentagon will announce that both secretary of defense leon panetta and all of the joint chiefs have certified the military is ready to repeal

don't ask, don't tell. president obama signed a repeal of the military's ban on openly gay troops. since then the military has been preparing for lifting the ban. a new cnn poll shows 64% of americans think the u.s. should play a dominant role in space exploration. half of all americans think the end of the shuttle program is bad for the united states. papers filed this week show that former california governor arnold schwarzenegger does not want to pay wife maria shriver spousal support. they're expected to reach a confidential out of court settlement as they end their marriage following revelations he had a child with a household staffer. and as the u.s. deals with the brutal heat, chile is digging out from more than seven feet of snow. it's so bad that a catastrophe has been declared in several areas. it's hard to imagine. well, now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. being short may have its virtues.

a new english study found the shorter the woman, the lower her risk is for cancer. researchers determined women's risk for cancer jumped 16% with each four inch height increase. and the trend held for all cancers, taller women were more likely to develop leukemia, melanoma, and cancers of the breast, uterus and bowels. you can check out the health page at msnbc.com for more information. now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,724 after climbing 152 points yesterday. the s&p went up 17 points. the nasdaq grew 20. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei rose 121 points, while in hong kong the hang seng spiked 457.

hope that some long-standing issues will finally be addressed sent stocks surging thursday. the street ran wild with optimistic rumors that a deficit deal in washington was imminent. euro zone leaders hashed out a massive new bailout for greece with banks and other private contributors. they also radically reformed the euro rescue fund to help countries before a crisis happens. all that brought out confidence. oil surged above $100 a barrel. the euro rose against the dollar, and u.s. government bonds fell. also, overnight asian markets were higher on news of the euro deal. unexpected bang-up earnings from morgan stanley sent shares spiking 11%. union pacific jumped almost 5% on higher profits. alexion pharmaceuticals had better than expected numbers, but intel dropped after trimming its sales forecast for personal computers.

the bell, microsoft fell on disappointment over weak windows profits. in deal news, compress scripts is buying medco health for just over $29 billion, combining the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers. six years earlier than expected, the government has sold its entire investment in chrysler to italy's fiat. now the majority shareholder. and, finally, prince william and wife, catherine, flying home from the u.s. commercial to save taxpayers paid off in more ways than one. to compensate the royal couple and others for the video system on the ten-hour flight breaking down, british airways offered each $300 vouchers for duty-free shopping. wonder what they bought. the rays caught the yanks. the braves bought the rockies, and can it be ten years of peace between the owners and players in the nfl? plus, the padres come up big with the leather. holding back the marlins. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead.

well, with today being the peak of our historic heat wave, that means the weekend has to be better, right? well, your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if are you just waking up, this is "early today." in sports at times it looked bleak, and it is not a done deal

yet, but it looks like there may be football this year after all. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at your sports headlines. good morning. i know you're ready for some football, and it appears the nfl owners are ready. they approved a new collective bargaining agreement yesterday. now it's up to the players. they have until tuesday to vote on the new cba. the league is ready to begin football operations as soon as saturday, but the players have made it clear that they'll take as much time as they need to vote on the owners' proposed collective bargaining agreement. one think we know for sure, the nfl has canceled the hall of fame game between the bears and rams. barring any major setbacks, it appears the regular season will begin as scheduled on september 8th. baseball, the yanks c.c. sabathia, and that was enough for the rays. longoria, 12th home run of the year. sabathia lost his first game in over a month, 2-1. three total runs in that game while the braves put up four in one inning against the rockies. the home run to west.

the braves won a shoot-out 9-6. florida, marlins and padres. logan morrison hit one high, and deep but not high or deep enough for cameron. a leaping grab at the wall to take away a homer. logan couldn't believe it. an inning later, it's gabby sanchez, this time with a line drive to center and there is nathan again. another great catch. scary moment in this one in the seventh. a foul ball down the line. orlando made the grab, crashed into the wall, and was out cold. taken off the field on a stretcher for precautionary reasons, but he is okay. padres won it 5-3. finally, jason werth has struggled after signing a deal with the nationals. fans aren't complaining. they're raising a glass. he has been so bad that a bar is offering a beer for the price of his batting average. he is at .217. a cold one will cost you $2.17. jason isn't playing up to his worth on the field, but he is certainly paying off at the pub.

that's your early look at sports on "early today." have a great weekend. i'm fred roggin. well, just another day in the celebrity tsunami life of lindsay lohan. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, think back. remember all that white stuff? we'll introduce you to one guy trying to beat the heat by just thinking cold. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this friday morning. let me take you through your weekend forecast. today, not bad. no one will deal with too much wet weather. 90s interior west. seattle at 78. focus on seattle. they have had a cool spring into early summer. tomorrow is nothing to brag about at 72 on saturday. portland at 74. some of the heat in the middle of the country, heat ridge will shift to the west. by the time we get to sunday, a chance for 80 in the pacific northwest. if you are watching us on channel 2 in anchorage, alaska, let a talented cast lure you into a night of mystery and adventure following the story of the 39 steps at the anchorage community theater. that's your pacific event of the day list. now here's your early look at headlines in entertainment. at the box office this weekend if there is anyone who can take down "harry potter," perhaps

it it's "captain america." starring chris evans "captain america" reportedly cost $150 million to make. its studio also plans on long run franchise films. to start off on the right foot and beat "harry potter", it needs to earn at least $50 million this weekend. also open, the non-potter audience, another recent run of r-rated comedies "friends with benefits." co-stars justin timberlake and mila kunis have been out there selling it pretty hard, and it could take in over $20 million. finally, lindsay lohan was sued for assault and battery by the betty ford worker she had a run-in with last december, but that's not all. her probation judge warned her to do more community service and enroll in counseling or else, and this judge was no nonsense saying, "i don't want to hear, oh, i couldn't do it because i was on the set of a movie" which >> a warning? >> maybe sometimes it takes the

100th warning to really get the picture. >> i can't wait to see where she's partying tonight. this comes to us from wcau nbc 10 in philadelphia, pennsylvania, where one homeowner is hoping to find salvation from soaring temperatures just dreaming of a white christmas. like so many others, the current heat wave has been agonizing for rick, and to get some relief, he decided to cool off by just thinking cool thoughts. he actually put up christmas decorations hoping to tempt cooler temperatures into the area. of course, it didn't work, but at least psychologically his home symbolizes cooler days to come. >> i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day on your nbc station.

those who want to enjoy the beach but never want to leave the city can have it both ways in paris. over 5,000 tons of sand was trucked in to transform what's usually a riverside expressway into a beach. professional sculptors have taken advantage of the temporary waterfront creating pretty impressive sand castles there. meanwhile, in london other urban landscapes have been transformed for the summer. a department store roof has been converted into an island with a boating lake complete with a waterfall that takes up thousands of square feet. those interested in paddling around should act quick, though, since the special installation is only open for one weekend. a lot of work for one weekend. well, costumes are optional.

hard-core fantasy fans outdid themselves at comic-con. it transformed the comic book world into reality brought out die-hard fans in san diego where dressing up is part of the fun from traditional superheroes to more niche video game personalities. more than 100,000 are expected to come out for the annual event. it's not as hot there. they can wear those huge -- >> i'm going to offend our comic-con viewers and say i don't understand it. >> were you not a child and collected -- it's an american thing to do. >> i never collected comic books. did you? no. >> no. a bride in north carolina will tie the knot a year after she was paralyzed after she was paralyzed in a poolside accident at her bachelorette party. her friends and bridesmaids who jokingly pushed her into the pool and caused the accident, and they will be joining the bride on the big day. nasa set to announce the

landing sight for the next mars rover expected to be one of two craters on the red planet. the curiosity rover is part of a $2.5 million mission that will search for traces of ancient water and microbal life. happy birthday to alex trebek. he turns 71. all day long you can stay on top of the latest news and those stories and others as they break on msnbc. be sure to watch brian williams on "nbc nightly news". here's what's coming up later on the "today" show. al roker will have the latest on the nation's deadly heat wave and when the scorcher will finally end, and grammy winner and the voice coach c lo green performs live on the plaza for the summer concert series. keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports, and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. have a good one. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com